Steam Plant
The Southeast Steam Plant, located on the Mississippi River, has been providing energy to the Twin Cities campus for nearly 30 years. Since its acquisition by the University, updates to the plant allow for burning of fuel which is at least 70 percent natural gas, as opposed to a traditional mostly coal fuel mix, and biomass burning. With the ability to burn oat hulls as of 2006, the cost in heating is significantly reduced by replacing some of the natural gas and coal the plant now uses to produce steam. Biomass fuels such as oat hulls are a huge improvement over fossil fuels but with today’s technology, hulls can only be burned in conjunction with coal in order to preserve the boiler. Minnesota is fortunate for its abundant supply of natural resources valuable in the production of biomass and other renewable sources as a substitute for fossil fuel-based energy. The University completed testing in the summer of 2003 which demonstrated that oat hulls burn cleaner than coal. Locally grown, oat hulls are a renewable energy source that does not contribute to the net carbon dioxide production from carbon based fuels such as natural gas. In 2006, the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency approved the University’s request to burn biomass, specifically oat hulls, at the Southeast Steam Plant. This results in fuel cost savings and drastic reductions of greenhouse gas emissions in large quantities. Burning a projected 25,000 tons a year of oat hulls saves an estimated $2 million of the cost in heating the Twin Cities Campus annually. Foster Wheeler has just completed a 15,000 ton/year oat hull contract which represents seven percent of the total fuel burned in Minneapolis and St. Paul.
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